Enter to win a copy of Crumb by Richard Bertinet

Richard Bertinet is a gifted chef and teacher. His cookbooks are not only beautiful but detailed and Crumb is no different. It is filled with step-by-step process photographs for folding, scoring and depictions as to what dough should look like at certain times during the fermenting.

The loaves demonstrated throughout Crumb are works of art and guided by the author's careful instruction we, too, can create the same. From rustic miches to Kouign amann, there are over 50 recipes with the true value resting in the wealth of photographs designed to aid us through every step of the process. I have every one of Bertinet's cookbooks and they are priceless.

Special thanks to Kyle Books for providing us with the recipe for this elegant loaf below as well as offering two copies of Crumb in our giveaway below (US). EYB is providing one additional copy worldwide.

Brie in brioche
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I love to make this for lunch for the family or friends. In France it is quite usual to serve a light brioche with something savoury like cheese, liver pâté or smoked salmon; when we make this in classes it is often quite a revelation and always a big favourite when we sit down and tuck into it at lunchtime. Turn it into a bit of a party piece by serving some charcuterie on a separate board and putting out a bowl of warm new potatoes, which everyone can use to scoop out all the cheese first, like a fondue. When the cheese has gone I make a big green salad in a bowl, toss it with plenty of vinaigrette (made with 1–2 parts wine vinegar to 3–4 parts extra virgin olive oil and 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper) and some chopped walnuts, and tip it into the space left by the cheese. I then cut a big wedge for everyone to enjoy a fantastic mix of cheesy, herby, garlicky bread and salad.

If you buy a 1kg brie, this will feed 8–10. I may be French but, because it’s good to support regional produce, I use a nice ripe Somerset brie – but not so over-ripe that it is running over the table!

For the dough

  • 200g full-fat milk
  • 3 medium eggs
  • 500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 20g fresh yeast
  • 60g caster sugar
  • 10g fine sea salt
  • 50g cold unsalted butter
  • strong white bread flour, for dusting
  • 1 large (1kg) ripe brie
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
  • a few small sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme
  • 2 tablespoons good extra virgin olive oil
  • dash of Pernod (optional)

For the glaze:

  • 2 eggs
  • pinch of fine sea salt

Make the dough

1. Put the milk and eggs into the bowl of a food mixer, then add the flour (and seaweed, if using). Break up the fresh yeast and add to one side of the bowl. Add the sugar and salt on the other side of the bowl. Break the butter into pieces on top.

2. Mix on a slow speed for 4 minutes, then increase the speed to medium and continue to mix for about 12–15 minutes until the dough comes away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.

3. Lightly flour the work surface and a clean bowl. Use a scraper to turn the dough onto the work surface.

4. Form the dough into a ball and leave to rest in the bowl for about 1 hour until just under double in size.

5. When the dough has rested, lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough into a rough circle.

6. Place a large baking ring (about 30cm diameter) on top of a baking tray, then press in a large sheet of baking parchment.

7. Lower the dough into the paper and use your fingertips to gently press it down in the centre and outwards into the shape of the ring so that you create an indent big enough to hold the brie while forming a rim around the outside of the cheese.

8. Put in the brie and score the surface with a sharp knife in criss-cross fashion.

9. Push the slices of garlic into the cuts that you have made, along with the sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme. Drizzle the whole thing with the olive oil. I like to sprinkle over a tablespoon of Pernod too, but that is up to you.

10. Cover with a large freezer bag and leave to prove for about 45 minutes. During this time the rim of the dough will almost double in size.

11. While the dough is proving, preheat the oven to 190°C and beat the eggs with the salt for the glaze.

12. Brush the rim of the dough with the egg glaze and transfer the tray to the preheated oven. Turn down the heat to 180°C and bake for about 30–40 minutes until the cheese has melted and the rim of the brioche is a dark golden brown. If you lift up the parchment paper carefully you should be able to see through it to check that the base of the brioche is also dark golden brown.

13. Remove from the oven and, holding the baking parchment, lift the brioche from the ring onto a board and invite everyone to tuck in while it is still warm.

Thanks to the publisher for providing the recipe above and for offering two copies of this title to EYB Members in the US. EYB is providing one copy worldwide. One of the entry options is to answer the following question in the comments section of this blog post.

Which recipe in the index would you try first?

Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won’t be counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post and this forum post. Once you log in and enter your member name you will be directed to the next entry option – the blog comment. After that, there are additional options that you can complete for more entries. Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on November 11th, 2019.

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